Wednesday, April 6, 2011

We returned from vacation on Sunday and boy oh boy was that a long, but wonderful, trip. I can certainly see us doing that one again. Next time though we will add an extra day so that in the middle we have a break.

My rest didn't last long. I came back to 2 sick sister-in-laws who needed help with the kids so off I went. In fact I am still helping take care of the kids. I wanted to take at least 1 day off before I was back into my routine of babysitting but as you can tell that didn't work out as planned. After today I have to get some cleaning and organizing of my house done. Lots and lots going on right now.

This next 3 weeks will be very stressful. Something I am not looking forward to. Can't say much about it now but will very soon. With a little faith and tequila we will all come through this just fine.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

I took an unintentional hiatus from this blog and a few other things to gather myself and prepare for the sale of my business. No matter how professional I tried to look at it, all I could see was I was selling something that was so dear to me.

I had hoped a nice Christmas vacation to Disneyland with my family would clear my head and bring me home ready to take on the world with my newest venture, Party Gals. It didn't really. All I could see was how many changes were made to the business I sold (I didn't seek them out, I seen them advertised by other wahms) and it truly bothered me. As an artist who dabbled in advertising art in college while earning my degree in animation some things I just see as amateur with cutsie graphics and no real professional presence. I do however see the care taken in marketing.

Today I seen yet another marketing piece with amateur graphics and taking away the essence of the business. I know, I know. But when you put so much into it and you should be looking at it as a business deal and just move on, I just can't seem to do so.

My days have revolved around taking care of my niece and nephew but the days have been split and erratic that sometimes I don't even have much time with my own family. I think some people do forget that and it does make it hard trying to explain that. I have taken steps to begin to keep those days less random so I can spend more time with my family.

With spending so little time with my family I don't seem to find time to cook for them. Either its take out or they have dinner ready by the time I get home. It was really nice to cook them dinner last night and doing so again tonight. It is the little things you take for granted or simply forget the pleasure it does bring to you.

We are leaving again for another vacation in less than a week. It was an unexpected trip that came after a very nice windfall from a remaining held sum from my car accident settlement. We decided to go during the spring and celebrate my son's 17th birthday at Disneyland. We will also be celebrating my husbands birthday with a belated gift of NASCAR. We decided to go with the Budwiser Block Party pack so everyone could go to the pits have a truly memorable first NASCAR race experience. My husband is all about racing so this is especially exciting for him. We order the Southern California City Pass so we will have 3 days in Disneyland, 1 day in Universal Studios, 1 day at Seaworld, and 1 day at the Wild Animal park. We got a great deal on www.getawaytoday.com for these. We arrive a day early which allows us to rest after a 12 hour drive and even visit with some family (we are from CA so lots of family still there).

When we return we have a lot of changes coming our way and will be a lot of hustle. It will be a blessing to go away to relax and come back with a fresh outlook.

Coming back will also open up new life for this blog and give opportunities to new postings as I find new passion in my Party Gals and Baby Bottom Bakes business.

While trying to redirect my thoughts I started a blog about my Disney adventures in and out of the disney parks. Disney is in my life daily. Without trying I have something disney on me at all times. My current purse is mickey, my keys have mickey and minnie keychains, I am often seen wearing a mickey shirt in some way, and I have my mickey necklace I wear from time to time, and my watch that I can never seem to lose (not that I want to). Disney has always brought me great pleasure. Also Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse were my inspirations for going to college and getting my animation degree.

For 3 years I did it all. Upwards of 18 hour days. I think the idea of selling part of that gave way to allowing me to see what was really important to me and also show me I can't do it all. I see so many WAHMs talk about doing it all and taking on more than 2 businesses. I think 2 is tough when done right. Trying to do more, the right way, is nearly impossible if you want to have any personal time or family time. Some will disagree but if we are bring honest about it, something is sacrificed every single time.

WAHM Tip of the Week

While free ads are great, they are not always effective. You may spend a lot of valuable time placing free ads, surfing traffic exchanges, or just searching these out. Most times you are just advertising to others who are advertising themselves and not actually going to buy anything. Instead find 5 free places to place an ad and 2 places for paid ad space. Find well placed ad spots where your target audience is actually going to. Leave these ads for 3 months. If they produce nothing, remove your ad and more on. If they are producing results, continue your campaign. In these ads always include some sort of code or promotion so you know what campaign is working and which is not.

Recipe of the week

A new favorite around my home is a Mango Tea Punch. I made it on a whim and it has stuck every since. Give it a try this summer!